A New Jersey businessman and co-defendant in Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D.N.J.) corruption case has pleaded guilty to seven charges and said he will cooperate with investigators.
Jose Uribe pleaded guilty Friday to a series of charges, including bribery conspiracy, obstruction of justice, wire fraud and tax evasion. If convicted on all charges, he could be sentenced to up to 95 years in prison. Mr. Uribe said in his plea agreement that he would cooperate with prosecutors against Mr. Menendez.
Federal prosecutors initially dropped charges against Mr. Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, in September. Among them are accusations that he was involved in a corruption scheme to benefit the Egyptian government, along with Fred Dybes, a real estate developer in Uribe, New Jersey, and Wael Hana, who runs a halal meat certification business in the state. include.
Timeline of Sen. Bob Menendez’s longstanding corruption charges with his wife
Sen. Bob Menendez (DN.J.) and his wife Nadine leave a Manhattan courtroom after being indicted on federal bribery charges in New York on September 27, 2023. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The Menendez family is accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes “for the purpose of protecting and enriching” Uribe, Dybes and Hana. The bribes included cash, gold bars, mortgage payments, compensation for missed work, and “other items of value,” according to the indictment.
An image of gold bars recovered from the Menendez residence shown in the Justice Department’s indictment against him. (Getty Images/Department of Justice)
Mr. Uribe also allegedly helped Mr. Menendez and his wife purchase a Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible worth more than $60,000. According to the indictment, Menendez had agreed to intervene in a New Jersey criminal prosecution involving an associate of Uribe who was charged with insurance fraud related to a trucking company and Uribe’s employees.
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Sen. Bob Menendez (DN.J.) arrives on the Senate floor at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 25. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Menendez, whose trial is scheduled to begin in May, has denied any wrongdoing and said “behind the scenes” forces were working to silence him and dig his “political grave.” He and his wives, Dybes and Hana, have pleaded not guilty.
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Menendez’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.
